Craft

Pumpkin Party DIY

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Calling all ghouls, witches, and monsters to come party with us! We’ve got two simple pumpkin DIY’s that will be a hit for your haunted Halloween festivities.

PUMPKIN PARTY COOLER

We’re here for the BOOS. This innovative beverage cooler will spook your guests as eerie fog seeps out of your wicked pumpkin while keeping your beverages (non-alcoholic or alcoholic) chilled as you boogie the night away!

*Adult supervision is suggested while handling dry ice.

Supplies:

1 large pumpkin

Cutting knife

Pencil/pen

Dry ice

Any beverage of your choice

Instructions:

Gut and clean your pumpkin.

Trace the bottom of the beverages you are using to ensure the opening is the proper size.

Make as many holes as you desire. Feel free to get creative and add any additional carvings.

Insert beverages into their placeholder.

Carefully handle dry ice, place inside the pumpkin, and add a splash water to create smoke.

Chia-eers!

TATTOO PUMPKINS

Don’t have time to carve a pumpkin or want to deal with the mess? No worries, just slap on a pack of your favorite shiny, metallic tattoos and have the flashiest pumpkin this Halloween season!

DIY Summer Essentials

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We’re feeling hot, hot, hot this month as the summer days are coming to an end. Squeeze in some last minute rays and spice up your warm weather game with these DIY Summer Essentials. As pre and post sun necessities, this beach towel and aloe vera go hand-in-hand, especially when the majority of the day is spent outside basking in the sun.

DIY Beach Towel

Let your creative soul shine through with this custom beach towel made with one common household item…bleach! Create witty summer sayings like “In need of Vitamin Sea”, “Salty but Sweet”, or “Seas the Day” on your favorite colored towel. You can also ditch the quote and create a bleach design like (splatters, polka dots, stripes, tie dye, etc.) instead! Your towel can be anything you want it to be. Get crafting and show off your towel at the beach or pool before your summer fun is over!

*We suggest adult supervision if working with children

What You Need:

beach towel

1/2 cup bleach

1/2 water

rubber gloves

card board

spray bottle

thick paper, card stock, or stencils

Instructions:

Type out the quote you chose onto a document making sure letters are big enough so when you go to print there is only one letter per page. If you are using store bought stencils skip to Step 3.

Cut down the letters into smaller rectangles so when you place them on the towel they are as close together as possible. Remove the inside lettering from the rectangle to create a stencil, but remember to keep inside pieces that have holes in the center i.e. (D, O, R).

In a well ventilated area, set up your work surface by laying out a piece of cardboard to place the towel on. Set your stencils on the towel in the desired order. To avoid splattering outside of your stencils use extra pieces of cardboard to surround any open space that could be ruined if you want a more clean look to your towel. Also, tape any seams between each stencil to prevent bleeding in between letters (see in photo below).

Mix 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup bleach into a squirt bottle. Put your rubber gloves on and begin to spray the letters evenly with the bleach mixture. BEFORE spraying make sure to twist the squirt bottle cap and test each spray until you reach a light mist. This is very important so you don’t over-saturate the towel with bleach causing your letters to bleed with one another. Stand 2-3 feet away as you spray to lightly cover the stencils. Spray no more than 15 times. From there use your judgement for how much more you should spray for your desired look. Depending on the towel some colors will change quickly, others like the one in the photo, will take a while to notice any change so be patient during this process. Once finished spraying, let the bleached towel sit for no more than 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes and with rubber gloves on, remove towel from work surface and rinse out the towel in a sink or tub with cold water. Wring out the towel and toss it into a washer with laundry detergent. Transfer to a dryer after it’s finished. While towel is in the wash dispose of the cardboard and stencils with gloves on.

Once towel is dried, take it for a trip to the beach or hit the pool and show off your summer creation!

DIY Aloe Vera Cooling Cubes

After a day full of fun in the sun your skin may be a little irritated with you. We all know the common remedy to curing sun burnt skin is aloe vera. But, before you go out and buy the store bought option create your own 100% natural aloe vera cooling cubes at home. They will relieve your skin and have it thanking you and singing “aloe you vera much”, after this extra special treatment. Chill out! Not only will this organic remedy take some heat off, it will also cool your skin to the touch since this DIY remedy requires freezing to help soothe and return your skin to its happy state.

What You Need:

dixie cups or ice cube tray

lavender essential oil

2 Tbsp avocado oil

2 Tbsp coconut oil

2 Tbsp witch hazel extract

1/4 cup aloe vera gel from Medical Aloe Plant

Instructions:

Melt your coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl for 10-15 seconds if solid. Remove from microwave, add 2 tablespoons of avocado oil, mix the two ingredients together and set aside.

Remove a few stems from your aloe plant that will give you at least 1/4 cup of aloe gel. It is very important that you are using aloe from a Medical Aloe Plant as this is specifically used for topical usage. Skin the aloe gel from its outer shell until you have several clear gel strips. Dice the aloe and add to the bowl of coconut and avocado oil.

Add 2 tablespoons of witch hazel to the bowl and 8-10 drops of lavender essential oil.

Whisk together all the ingredients until you reach your desired consistency.

Pour mixture into dixie cups and freeze overnight.

Remove from freezer and rip around the edges of the dixie cup until aloe pop is exposed. Slowly move across sun burnt shoulders, arms, and legs to soothe your skin. Pop any remaining aloe back in the freezer for next time.

Make Your Own Shade - DIY Sun Hat

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Hold onto your hats! This summer DIY craft will blow you away and protect your skin this toasty summer! As we make our way through summer, our sun-kissed skin could use a little break from the UV rays. Make your own shade, and cool your skin, with your own personalized sun hat! We like to keep our bodies happy and healthy so what better way to protect your neck, ears, eyes, and nose than with this one-of-a-kind accessory. This simple DIY is a great activity to do with friends or family and will have everyone at the beach wondering how they can get their own! Now go grab your sunscreen and hat for a full day of play in the sun!

This craft was inspired by Studio DIY with her playful donut hat that we just had to try, but with our own spin! Sticking to our roots we were inspired to use our chia seeds and ombréthem onto the hat brim in our favorite color of course…PURPLE! Let your soul’s creativy take the reigns and make your hat as playful as you want. Here are some design inspirations to get the endless hat ideas flowing: polka dots, gold-trimmed, ombré, striped or create a design that sings to your soul.

What You Need:

Acrylic paints of your choice

Paint brushes

Wide brim hat

Newspaper

Instructions:

Lay out your newspaper across your work surface to protect it from any paint.

2. Set your hat on top of the newspaper and begin to paint any design or color you prefer (we printed our chia petals and cut them out to use as stencils)!

Paint however many coats you feel is necessary for your design, the hat will still remain floppy!

5 Ways to Celebrate National Upcycling Day

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Reduce, reuse, UPcycle! Did you know that June 24th is National Upcycling Day? We encourage you to get in touch with your creative side and make something beautiful and new out of something old! See below how you can celebrate this special day by upcycling your Mamma Chia bottles into something fresh, new and functional! After all, the best things in life are (almost) free!

What brings you joy? Is it crafting, painting, or upcycling items? If so, we have a quick and easy DIY in store for you! Start building your Mamma Chia beverage cap collection and transform them into your own one-of-a-kind fridge magnets that give you playful reminders to “embrace the wacky you” throughout the day!

Sometimes the kitchen can be the hardest area in our home to decorate. Maybe it’s because it tends to be the room that seems the most daunting, or depending on where you live, it can be the room with the least amount of space. If you’re in need of a little inspiration and want to spice up your kitchen decor, then this is the perfect DIY for you. The best part? It’s both decorative and functional and that’s a win-win in our book!

What’s more delightful than visiting your local farmer’s market for a bundle of fresh flowers and placing them in your very own sea glass vase? Brighten up your home with this popular decor trend and recreate this DIY that helps make Mamma Earth brighter, too!

Do you enjoy the inspirational quotes you find underneath our caps? One Mamma Chia fan loved them so much she created this amazing DIY that we get to share with you! Light up your home or backyard summer BBQ with these Magical upcycled bottle cap tealights created by Julie Divinski, of Soy Wicks & Sticks!

Have your very own winter wonderland in your home this year with these DIY recycled Mamma Chia bottles. You can create this magical piece with any of our beverage bottles (we used our Chia Energy and Chia Vitality Beverage bottles) to dazzle your guests this holiday season. This inexpensive DIY project will bring joy and peace to your home, as well as, Mamma Earth.

Magical Upcycled Tealights

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Do you enjoy the inspirational quotes you find underneath our caps? One Mamma Chia fan loved them so much she created this amazing DIY that we get to share with you! Light up your home or backyard summer BBQ with these Magical upcycled bottle cap tealights created by Julie Divinski, of Soy Wicks & Sticks! These candles are so simple to make that once you’ve burned it all the way down to the wick you can refill the lids again with scents like Bonfire Bliss, Cucumber Mint, Lavender, or Cranberry Salsa (pictured). Unleash your creative soul and brighten your spirits with one-of-a-kind scents for yourself or your friends!

Chalk Paint DIY by The Resource Girls

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Isn’t spring the best feeling? These Resource Girls are loving all of the sunshine, fresh air and patio nights with grilled food. Those cold months stuck around way too long if you ask us. With the newness that spring brings we want to embrace Mamma Chia’s motto of ‘Seed Your Soul’ this season and find a few new ways to include it into our home decor.

As Resource Girls, we believe that a positive word or phrase has the ability to turn your day around. We love embracing positive affirmations on our clothing or jewelry, and definitely won’t shy away from some inspirational quotes hanging on our walls at home. Little extra reminders like these help us remember to not take life too seriously and to live in the present. If you’re of the same mindset as us or just needing a little extra positivity then we’ve got just the project for you! We are firm believers that at home projects don’t need to be overly complicated or expensive. Below are a few of the items you’ll need and we promise the rest is easy and will have your home feeling ready for warmer days in no time!

Items Needed ||

Wooden board or sign (if you want it to be magnetic, use one with a tin surface like the one pictured above!)
Black chalkboard marker or chalkboard paint with paint brush
Terra cotta pot
Acrylic paint with paint brush
Colorful chalk markers
Plant for your pot

Tutorial ||

Ensure your surface is clean. Using your black chalkboard marker or chalkboard paint and paint brush, draw/paint over the entire area you want to create a chalkboard on. For the sign, we covered the entire front. For the pot, we only drew a square and colored that in. Make it as big or small as you want!

Allow the black chalkboard pen or paint to dry per instructions. Ours didn’t take too long and after one hour, we added another two layers to ensure the black color was dark enough and no surface was showing through.

While the second coat dries, use a gold permanent sharpie and color the edge of your board, or us any colored acrylic paint. If you don’t have an edge that shows then you may skip this step.

Now comes the fun part! Make it your own and write a fun saying or quote on your chalkboard surface using chalkboard markers. We love Mamma Chia’s ‘Seed Your Soul’ motto, but we say write what makes your soul happy. Using the chalkboard markers make a pattern or design on it to give it some flair. Mess up? No problem! Chalkboard markers can easily be cleaned up on the chalkboard surface you created with a wet paper towel. Once you’ve wiped it off, pat the surface dry with a clean paper towel. These chalkboard markers can be used on wood, paper or terra cotta pots. We’re sure there are many more fun ways to use them around your home, so get creative!

If this doesn’t get you ready for some spring cleaning and decorating we don’t know what will! Add the sign to your desk at work for weekly reminders, or place your newly decorated pot on your back porch next to your patio chair to give you an extra ounce of sunshine while you relax and enjoy yourself. We’re sure this little bit of positivity, along with a friendly reminder to ‘Seed Your Soul’ will have you channeling positive vibes, ensuring that you will have your best spring yet!

About the Authors:

Lauren and Cat are two best friends who have a lifestyle blog, The Resource Girls. They blog about what they call their 5 F’s – fashion, fitness, finance, food, and friendship. Their number one goal is to embrace who they are and live a healthy and happy life while not spending a fortune. They especially love DIY projects because they can put their own spin on something and make it 100% unique to them. Their motto is Be resourceful. Be you.

10 Unique Ideas to Surprise and Delight Mom this Mamma's Day

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We love our Mammas here at Mamma Chia! We all can agree that they deserve the world for all that they’ve done for us. To show them our appreciation, we’ve rounded up a list of handmade gifts and ideas for you to spoil your Mamma this year. These budget-friendly gestures are a great way to show her she’s on your mind! Cherish your Mamma and don’t forget to tell her how much you love her!

Tea party for two? Bring back a bit of nostalgia to when Mom used to play tea party with you! Create this dainty plant holder by treasure hunting at your local antique or thrift store to find unique pieces that hold everyone’s favorite desert plants!

Pamper Mom this Mother’s Day with these relaxing bath salts that allow her sit back and soak in this delightful aroma combo.

4. Go to Brunch

Beat the Mother’s Day crowd and take Mom out to brunch the day before or create your own brunch buffet with Mom’s favorite foods. Wanna be outside? Go have a picnic somewhere with a view. Your Mamma will sure enjoy the quality family time without any distractions!

Are you far away from Mom this Mother’s Day? Rather than going to the store and sorting through hundreds of cards, why not make your own unique card! Get creative and make it an arts and crafts project. Be sure to fill it with a heartfelt messages that only you can write best!

6. Pick Up the Phone

If a gift isn’t in your budget this year and you can’t spend the day with Mom, what better way to show her you’re thinking of her than some quality phone time. Rather than sending Mom a quick “Happy Mother’s Day” text, pick up the phone and give her a phone call or even Facetime! Give her your time and full attention and remember it’s the little things that count!

Wake up and smell the coffee or, er, the candle! Be sure not to use Mom’s favorite mug, but choose cups that accent Mom’s decor. The best part is that this DIY candle holder can be reused each time the candle is burned all the way through! You can’t go wrong with this gift since everyone enjoys a good scented candle.

For Moms who love gardening and just in time for Spring, these super simple garden markers make a gift that Mom will adore. She’ll also appreciate the fact that you’re supporting something she enjoys doing!

DIY Upcycled Sea Glass Flower Vases

April 14, 2016

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Spring is in the air and flowers are in full bloom! What’s more delightful than visiting your local farmers’ market for a bundle of fresh flowers and placing them in your very own sea glass vase? Brighten up your home with this popular decor trend and create a DIY that also helps make Mamma Earth brighter, too!

What You Need:

2-3 empty Mamma Chia beverage bottles

1 can of sea glass spray paint

Newspaper

Olive oil cooking spray

Twine

Bouquet of flowers

Directions:

Wash your Mamma Chia beverage bottles clean with soap and warm water.

Peel off the beverage label. There will be a sticky residue left after removal. Don’t worry, there’s a few household solutions to get the residue off. We used canned olive oil spray, but here’s a link to alternative options: How to Get Sticky Residue Off Glass

Make sure the bottles are completely dry and find a well ventilated area, preferably outdoors. Lay down newspaper to protect the surface you are working on. Following the instructions on the can of spray paint, and one at a time begin to spray the first coat of paint. Do keep in mind that the more layers you spray with this specific paint, the darker your bottle will be and the less it will look like sea glass. We played around with different layers on each bottle to create an ombré effect.

Let the bottles dry for at least 30 minutes before wrapping the twine around the rim of the bottle. When you’re wrapping the twine around the neck of the bottle, you can secure the loose piece by tying the ends together.

Trim your flowers to fit into the bottles and arrange them as desired!

DIY Geode Coasters

April 14, 2016

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A beautiful beverage deserves a beautiful coaster! We’ve seen these beautiful, all natural coasters flying off the shelves at home decor stores. With a set ranging anywhere from $50-$150 in store, we figured it would be a delight to find an affordable way to makes these beautiful creations at home (at a fraction of the price)!

What You’ll Need:

Geode/Agate slices. We found ours here! You can also find a beautiful selection on Amazon. Be sure to order slices that are at least 3.5″ in diameter.

Directions:

Step 1: Apply the self-adhesive rubber feet on one side of each geode slice. If you are not using rubber feet, feel free to skip to step 2! Press and hold each rubber foot for 10-30 seconds to ensure it has fully adhered to the geode. Place a minimum of 4 to ensure equal stability. If your geode is a little more oblong in shape, you may need to add several more to avoid tilting of any kind when your beverage is resting on top.

Step 2: Lay out some newspaper or paper towels on your work area. Shake your gold/silver liquid leafing very well. Dip your paintbrush into the leafing and begin to paint the sides of geode. Tip: you might want to do this in a well ventilated area, as the fumes of the liquid leaf can be a bit overpowering!

Step 3: Once you have completed painting the sides of the geodes, gently place them on your newspaper or paper towel surface to dry. It should dry fairly fast!

DIY Party Tray

April 14, 2016

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It’s time to start gearing up for the last major holiday celebration of the year! We are thrilled to share this creative DIY piece so that you can be the “hostess with the mostess” while ringing in the New Year. This fun and easy DIY Party Tray can be used for serving cocktails, hors d’ouvres, or as festive décor around the house! Either way, this custom tray will be sure to impress your guests at your New Year’s gathering!